Disability Insurance

I have it. Primarily because my husband was unexpectedly disabled and I learned from his experience.

However, to be honest, the best policies are individually purchased. The group policies leave alot to be desired.

My hospital offers a basic policy, but you can purchase the better one for a couple of dollars more a pay period.

Also, my state has TDI(temporary disability insurance). This is taken out of everyones check in the state-like a tax. Usually for me it ends up being about 15.00 or so a check. Then, if you have surgery, illness or maternity leave, you apply for TDI. Whatever doctor you're receiving care from sends in the paperwork, and in a few weeks, you start getting a check for about 60% of your usual pay. I had a bout of Bell's Palsy in April and was out of work for about 1 month..it was nice to not have to worry how I was going to pay bills, and I didn't have to deplete my vacation bank. They will use your sick time first though-when that runs out, then you start with TDI.

Virtually all employer-sponsored policies will governed under ERISA. This means several things, not the least of which is that you cannot seek damages or bad faith relief under any circumstances. In addition, under ERISA, you cannot seek relief at the state level, you must file at the Federal level

Most employer-provided policies have a policy stipulation that allows for SSDI monies to be deducted from the benefit. This makes the policy more cost-efficient for the employer to provide.

If you want to purchase true disability coverage, your best bet is an individual policy, where you will decide on the features that you want your policy to contain. Individual policies are, as a rule, not governed by ERISA and thus can be arbitrated at the state level, leading to a quicker resolution of any issues. Personal policies can also be subject to bad faith claims/lawsuits.

And no, I'm definitely not an insurance salesperson. Just the wife of a disabled person, who has figured this all out the hard way.

When I had a private disability plan it only covered me if I was ill/injured while at home. They said worker's comp would have to be the payer if I was injured at work.

I have my own individually purchased disability plan. I like to work PRN but full time hours and with my husband's job we tend to move every couple of years. I wanted a policy that would travel with me. My dad had ALS for 2 yrs before he died and his long term disablity plan helped out tremendously. I will NEVER go without disability insurance.

Again, that is a feature of your policy (although I've never heard of that provision in a privately-issued policy) that you would have chosen to have or not. It all comes down to the premium that you want to pay. That's why employer-sponsored policies are so (relatively) cheap - they contain offsets for SSI, Workers Comp payments, other income.